Livestock sale shows off community character

Saturday’s Livestock Sale at the Northwest Montana Fair showed off well-bred steers; fat, healthy hogs; and a generous sense of community spirit.

When the auction started at 8:30 a.m., the fairgrounds trade center was lively with buyers piled into the stands and young sellers trying to wrangle their livestock into the arena.

Riley Olson, a Whitefish 4-H participant, was there with his steer for his first sale after winning four ribbons in the Friday market exhibition. Olson’s 1,134-pound steer sold for $4.75 a pound, about 50 cents above the average.

“It’s kind of sad, but I’m happy,” Olson said. It’s a bittersweet moment selling a nine-month project pet for $5,386.50.

Each morning during the fair, Olson has gotten up early to wash, dry, brush and feed the light brown steer.

“That’s a relationship right there,” Heather Olson, Riley’s mother, said.

The Olson family has several hands in the Northwest Montana Fair; Riley’s younger brother raised a pig that sold for $4.50 a pound and the youngest Olson brother shows rabbits.

The hog auction followed the steer sales, running through animals almost as fast as the auctioneer was running up prices. Cassidy Wiley, a 16-year-old Kalispell FFA member, was back for her second year at selling pigs.

“This year was a lot better than last year. I learned a lot about showmanship with the pigs that I didn’t know last year,” she said after selling her hog for $1,300 at $5.50 a pound.

Half of the presentation is just trying to get the pigs to stay calm while they circle the corral with their owner. They show and sell much better when they’re calm, she said.

“It’s kind of hard to see them leave and you do get a little emotionally attached,” she said. “But it’s good that in the end you know you’re selling a good product.”

The product is judged the day earlier in order to earn the high prices buyers pay at auction, but the destination is often the most generous part of the sale. According to Mark Lalum, chairman of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Committee, upwards of 40 percent of the animals sold Saturday went to charitable organizations. Animals were donated to Flathead Valley Food Bank, Flathead Valley Veterans Food Pantry and several more good causes.

“The buyers are just phenomenal about supporting the kids and then turning around and donating it to all the charitable organizations,” Lalum said. “It’s just humbling sometimes to see what’s going on.”

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.